Editorial

The Consequences when Free Choice Prevails in Travel

The art of good marketing often includes the ability to promote (then sell) a product that someone doesn’t actually require, let alone want. Electric cars might tick this box though for those who have already migrated thanks to direct and indirect pressure, the suggestion that they have been misled along the garden path will not be taken kindly.  In 2024, 54% of all cars sold were SUV’s, this is SUVs of all types i.e. petrol, diesel, hybrid etc. this is a 3% increase on 2023 and 5% more than 2022! Of all SUVs on the road, 95% are burning fossil fuels.

The utopian and somewhat disconnected United Nations have long predicted that the population of the world will gradually move to smaller electric cars, a slightly prophetic predication certainty without substance and which shows no sign of being delivered. This may well be because aside of those that sit in the section of marketing classification as being “early adopters”, the progression to “early majority” is blocked as the latter are perhaps a bit more street wise! Initial momentum was thought to be with sales of smaller energy efficient electric vehicles but the sales of such vehicles has been decreasing with sales of SUV’s outpacing them. A possible explanation of this may be because in faster moving economies people have an increased purchasing power coupled with the now widespread choice of SUV’s that come in all shapes and sizes as well as price tags to match. Manufacturers also like selling SUV” s as the have a big profit attached to them.

If you need to asses the state of play of electric cars and the wider public perception of them, then look no further than the Rent-a car industry where, due to keen PR speel from the eco warriors, being seen to do the right thing and transform your hire fleets to electric offerings was the name of the game. That was until those who use hire cars decided that hiring rent a car wasn’t for them. It appeared that in the rush to tell the king how nice his clothes looked, no-one had the guts to tell him he wasn’t wearing clothes, that is, people voted with their accelerator pedal and the pedals were not attached to an electric car. The car hire companies realised they had mis read the room, their electric fleets were white elephants and expensive ones at that. Commercial normality had to return as quickly as possible and whole electric fleets were dispensed with. Put quite simply, Electric cars were not fit for purpose.

All of the aforementioned is obviously contentious and there is no doubt that the creep of electric vehicles will continue, though it remains to be seen how long it will take before there is a popular majority of electric vehicles users. The Swedes have tried to shame air travellers and stop them from flying for a while now and no doubt the churn of benefits of using an electric vehicle will appear across the media. What won’t appear is the fact, well known but seldom repeated, that the manufacture of an electric vehicle produces the same CO2 as driving a diesel engine for 15 years. Another fact or comment that won’t find its way into the top 500 pages of google searches is the comment from the Chairman if Toyota who, when questioned why the company is not focusing more on EV’s, replied that it was impossible for more than 25% of the world’s population to drive such cars!  Some facts are not for widespread publication otherwise the narrative is destroyed and billions are lost in the project.

On the subject of the anomaly in what the minority want to enforce on the majority when it comes to air travel, it is again interesting to note that air traffic in Europe rose by 6.9% year on year; a clear statement that people want to travel. Match that with the clearly stated objective of the European Union who, in their climate objectives, clearly state that they wish to reduce the amount of air travel available to people in Europe. The laws of supply and demand clearly are a serious obstacle to them and it’s something the EU needs to be address, possibly by higher taxes but that’s another story. Aviation, as we have pointed out before, contributes very little to the total global CO2 output and from a European perspective, it’s even less. When you consider that around 50% of all the global CO2 emissions is generated by China, India and the USA (not in that order), Europe by comparison is responsible for 6%. If, however unrealistic that the oft spoke about target of a 45% reduction in carbon emissions is to be attained by 2030, an impossible target but it keeps people employed. Such a target effectively requires China, India and the USA to shut down! They can’t reach that target nor would they want to as it would be economic suicide for the respective governments. So, whilst the fine upstanding citizens of Europe will be pressured into doing things they would prefer not to do, the production of cars, clothes and ‘widgets’ et al will all be moved out of Europe so we can “hit our targets and feel good”. The production of the cars, clothes and “widgets” et al will all still be manufactured to satisfy the demand for them, expect they will be made out of Europe which in turn becomes an economic wasteland and no one will be able to afford to buy electric cars or fly anyway. Meanwhile the CO2 emissions have merely been transferred toother parts of the globe and the overall numbers remain the same. The power though has long been removed from Europe.

The question perhaps to be asked is not what the marketing message is saying, but who in reality is controlling that message? A good fiction novel would have a more sinister backdrop.

Mark Thomas

Different Planet

Never Miss a Gift Horse

It was only recently that we suggested that the new UK ETA entry visa (sorry “Travel Authorisation”), will shoot up in price once the trialling had finished, As if by magic, the Uk Government has announced that the price of the ETA will increase by a whopping 60% to 16 GBP.

The ETA was first introduced in November 2023 on a trial basis to a limited number of countries and is now a requirement for travellers from countries who do not – note the “’do not’” – need a visa to enter the UK.

The ETA was extended to over 50 countries at the start of this year and from April 2^nd will also apply to EU citizens. The ETA is valid for two years or until the passport expires whichever is the sooner.

The new British Government are clearly looking for soft targets to increase their income and whilst it is a 60% increase, in the grand scheme of things, 16 GBP will not affect the total budget for travellers as the UK is expensive anyway.

Tax Abuse

Just like airlines, the hotel sector has not been shy in adding spurious and indeed questionable taxes to overnight stays. There is most definitely now a fashionable ‘’City Tax’’ to be paid per overnight in many key cities, a tax that supposedly goes to the greater good of facilitating sustainability projects in high demand locations, or to help in marketing destinations so that that eventually they will also need a sustainability budget as they gradually get overrun. Sic. However what is more annoying are taxes that are referred to as ‘’Resort Taxes’’ a practice, like most bad practices, that started in the USA and has now migrated to other parts of the world.

Indeed the “Resort Tax” supposedly grew out of Las Vegas in 2012 before quickly spreading to Orlando and Miami. The justification for its adoption initially was to cover, for example, extra amenities like Pools and gyms though one New York Hotel listed air-conditioning as an extra amenity! In the USA, typical resort fees add on between 30 – 50 USD per night to a stay but the absurdity of them is highlighted in the rate for one LAS Vagas hotel which is listed at 84.55 USD per night, add on the 13% taxes and that takes the amount to over 100 USD. The resort fee is then a 43% amount on top of that meaning the 84.55 becomes a total of 136.95 USD. Tell that to the maths teacher.

The saying goes that whatever happens in the USA spreads across the Atlantic: lets hope that unlike the abusive airline taxes, the hotels don’t take the same path.

Bulgaria Loses Top (Bottom) Spot

Bulgaria has once again lost the title of having Europe’s worst drivers, the honour returning to Romania after just one year. According to EU’s preliminary data. Bulgaria had a death rate on the roads of 74 per million population, though itself a 9% decrease on the previous year.  Romania returned to the top of the pile with 77 per million inhabitants; a decrease of 4% on the previous year.

9800 people were killed on European roads in 2024, a small decrease on 2023 of around 600. Greece, Spain, France and Italy are seeing only modest decreases though a decrease on a small number is better than a decrease on a large number perhaps!

Sweden and Denmark are the safest countries in terms of road safety with rates of 20 and 24 per million respectively.

The Numbers Again

We have suggested on many occasions that very often the real story is not what the headlines of a story imply, but rather what goes into making the story. So, the headline that “the revenue from tourist accommodation in January in Bulgaria increased by 24% year on year’ in its banner headline would be immediately perceived as a significant increase that shows a vibrant and successful upward trend. Whilst this is true to a degree, take a look at what the figures behind this actually translate to.

The number of arrivals to tourist accommodation increased by 12.7% for the same period which means that the actual cost being charged for overnights has increased considerably: which follows the cost trend of just about everything in the country as it enters pre Euro mode! What is also more eye catching is the figure of ‘total occupancy’” across the tourist accommodation stock of a meagre 28.2%, an increase of 2% year on year.

Unless the figures are not being explained clearly, 60% occupancy would not be great in most destinations. Any tourist destination regardless of whether its winter or summer season focussed should be closer to 80% than 30% otherwise that’s a lot of empty beds and a lot of unfulfilled revenue. So maybe the questions that should be being asked are why is there is so much bed stock in the first place and if it can’t be filled, where are the potential occupants going instead and why (value for money?).

EES and ETIAS Farce Continues

This story about the two major projects of the EU has been running so long that most people will probably skip reading about it due to its monotony. The word delay seems to feature in every episode. However, we make no apology for this month’s update as reading about farce can be enlightening about how the EU works – or doesn’t work – plus at the end of the day its going to affect all of us no matter of our passport colour.

Firstly, let’s just re-iterate that this is a one-two project in that the first part has to work before the second, ie. The EES has to work before the revenue generating ETIAS comes into force.

The EES (Entry Exit System) is the long-delayed border control system which, after countless delays, is now slated to start from October 2025 in a progressive manner over six months in the European Schengen zones 29 countries. This system is a biometric system that will replace the manual stamping of passports and instead use digital photographs and fingerprints to register travellers from non-EU countries when they cross the EU’s external border. This phase was due to start in 2022 but at the end of the day, this is the Eu we are talking about so the longer a project can be spun along the more money can be extracted. Sic.

When the EES is finished being rolled out, taking note that it is not clear in what order the 29 countries will be implemented, the ETIAS will kick in and this is the European Travel Information and Authorisation System for non- EU visitors, which is now slated to start at the end of 2026. This ETIAS (visa) will be required by the citizens of 60 visa free countries who wish to travel to the EU. The fee for this will be 7 Euro’s, initially at least and will be valid for three years or until the passport expires. Again, this was due to start in 2022 but hey, what’s a four-year delay between friends!

So that’s the latest in the EU’s world of travel, but we admit no liability if all the above goes out of the window and another delay ensues. After all this is the public sector we shouldn’t forget.

Vertical Illusions

The Virgin Group are never one to miss a PR opportunity and even if their business acumen is questionable, their ability to attract attention with their marketing makes them an interesting watch to say the least. Their latest attention-grabbing project sees them announcing a partnership with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer, Joby Aviation. The announcement cited examples where such “machines” could be used starting with a 15-minute connection between Manchester and Leeds and 8 minute flights from Heathrow to Canary Wharf. Of course, the launch cannot take place without the buzz expression of these flights being zero emissions flights! One wonders if that includes the emissions generated in making the machines? Probably not.

Virgin previously had a deal with another eVTOL manufacturer in 2021, though perhaps not surprisingly that came to nothing. It should also be pointed out that Delta Air Lines owns 49% of Virgin and Delta invested 60 million USD in Joby in 2022 as a plan to use EVTOL aircraft for home to airport transfers in the USA. As such, nothing has happened yet but better give 60 m somewhere than pay it in taxes.

Saving Paper The Ryanair Way

Ryanair has delayed plans to move to 100% paperless boarding from May until November 2025. From November 3^rd, passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass and instead will have to use a smart phone and the Ryanair app to download a digital boarding pass.

The airline says 80% of all passengers currently use such digital boarding passes and the move will save 300 tonnes of paper. That means around 146 million people use their digital birding passes but 36 million travellers don’t! What if you don’t own a smart phone or are unable to use one, a scenario that many older people may face. The risk is they will potentially alienate 20% of their potential customers; though that’s never bothered them in the past!

A footnote about the ‘saving 300 tonnes of paper’. When airlines moved from issuing their own boarding passes at the check in and transferring the responsibility to travellers to print out their own at home, two independent calculations estimated that the amount of paper generated because of the airline’s actions – which was described a being cost saving on their side – was around 4 times more than if standard boarding passes were issued by the actual airline. Of course, the cost was moved away from the airline which was the sole objective and unfortunately, the excess carbon footprint this generated due to wiping out rain forests couldn’t be allocated back to the airlines. Trust an airline at your peril!

Vertigo Sufferers Welcome

Unless our google search is out of date, the world tallest hotel might soon be replaced as plans are announced to build a new 500m high twin-tower hotel in where else but Dubai.

Corinthia Hotels are the driver of the project which aside of the usual features, will have a cantilevered sky lobby 200 metres above the ground. The hotel will also apparently have the worlds highest outdoor pool.

No date for the opening is yet set it should be noted.

Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery

Last year saw Wizz Air launch a “membership scheme” aimed at regular travellers with the promise of early access to discounts and even set fares for certain routes. All of course subject to availability and excluding countless blackout periods; pardon our cynicism but the more one went into the detail the more irrelevant the scheme seemed. Not to be outdone, Ryanair are emulating their rival.

They have launched a new subscription service called “Prime” which is not a drink but a 79 Euro or GBP offering for benefits listed as free reserved seats, travel insurance and members discounts each month. The scheme is limited to “just’ 250,000 customers.

The airline says that anyone who fly’s 12 times per year can benefit from savings of up to 420 GBP/Euro’s annually whilst those travelling just three times per year can save around 105 GBP/Euros.

How about if you don’t take up the offer you save 79 GBP/Euro’s per year!

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